Unlicensed Medical Practice | Representative of a Beauty Esthetic Business Accused of Unlicensed Medical Practice, Non-Referral Decision

2025.12.18김국일

This is a case in which a report of unlicensed medical practice was filed, but by establishing that the conduct did not constitute a medical act and that the accusation was a repeated and malicious one, a non-referral decision was obtained even on the charge of violating the Medical Service Act.

1. Details of the Unlicensed Medical Practice Case

The client, who had been reported for unlicensed medical practice and was facing a charge of violating the Medical Service Act, stated that they operate a beauty esthetic business and currently run the business primarily through product education and online sales.

The products handled by the client are cosmetics whose main ingredients are hyaluronic acid and retinol, and they are ordinary cosmetics that do not constitute pharmaceuticals.

To promote sales of these cosmetics, the client carried out advertising through influencers, and in the course of this, one of the influencers posted on social media a photograph staging a scene in which a 0.2mm needle MTS device was placed against the face while the client's cosmetics were applied.

A third party subsequently took issue with the photograph and reported it as a violation of Article 27 of the Medical Service Act, that is, as unlicensed medical practice, and the investigative agency applied the charge of unlicensed medical practice to the client and commenced an investigation.

The client appealed for relief, asserting that the photograph was not a scene of an actual procedure performed on a client but merely a staged demonstration scene for advertising photography, and that there had been no medical procedure or any act performed on another person, and requested assistance from an attorney specializing in medical matters at Daeryun Law Firm.

2. Attorney Specializing in Medical Matters Who Responded to the Unlicensed Medical Practice Charge

On behalf of the client facing the charge of unlicensed medical practice, the attorney specializing in medical matters responded as follows.

Emphasizing That It Was Not a Medical Act

The Daeryun attorney specializing in medical matters set the key issue of this case as whether the client's conduct constituted a medical act under the Medical Service Act.

The medical act prohibited by Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act means examination, inspection, prescription, administration of medication, surgical procedures, the prevention or treatment of disease, and other acts that, if not performed by a medical professional, may give rise to a risk to public health and hygiene, based on experience and skill grounded in specialized medical knowledge.

In response, the attorney specializing in medical matters emphasized that the product handled by the client was a cosmetic and not a pharmaceutical, and that the advertising photograph at issue was not for the purpose of preventing or treating disease but merely a staging of a scene depicting the use of a cosmetic product.

In addition, the attorney intensively demonstrated that the use of the 0.2mm needle MTS device itself is difficult to assess as a surgical procedure or medical act premised on specialized medical knowledge.

Emphasizing the Absence of Any Actual Procedure

The attorney specializing in medical matters made clear that, even assuming that the conduct at issue constituted a medical act, the client had never performed such conduct on an actual client or any third party.

In particular, the attorney emphasized that the client had only shown a demonstration scene staged solely for advertising photography, and that the photograph was intended to provide an example of use in case a consumer were to use the product personally.

In addition, the attorney proved, through objective materials and the circumstances of the photography, that none of the elements constituting the substance of a medical act, such as an actual procedure, the receipt of consideration, or client management, were present at all.

Through this, the attorney clarified that this case was not the performance of a medical act but merely a matter of advertising expression.

Explaining the Circumstances of Repeated and Malicious Accusations of Unlicensed Medical Practice

In addition, the Daeryun attorney specializing in medical matters emphasized that the client already had a record of having been investigated by the investigative agency several times on the same matter.

The attorney specifically organized the fact that, although reports of the same or similar content had been repeated, no particular unlawful facts had been found during the investigations, and yet an unidentified complainant continued to repeatedly file accusations on the same matter, and emphasized that this constituted not a legitimate raising of an issue but an abuse of malicious and retaliatory accusations.

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3. Result of the Unlicensed Medical Practice Case

Based on the systematic legal construction and the organization of the facts by the attorney specializing in medical matters, the investigative agency determined that the charge of unlicensed medical practice was not established against the client and issued a non-referral decision.

This was the result of strictly interpreting the concept of a medical act under the Medical Service Act, clearly distinguishing between advertising staging and an actual procedure, and comprehensively considering even the circumstances of repeated and malicious accusations, and it is an outcome that was made possible by the assistance of the attorney specializing in medical matters at Daeryun Law Firm.

Explanation of the Concept of Unlicensed Medical Practice

Unlicensed medical practice is a crime defined in Article 27 of the Medical Service Act, and it refers to a case in which a person who is not a medical professional performs a medical act, or in which a medical professional performs a medical act beyond the scope of their license.

A violation of Article 27 of the Medical Service Act may be punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine not exceeding 50 million won.

In particular, in the beauty, esthetic, and cosmetics industries, advertising methods or demonstration scenes may be mistaken for medical acts, and criminal risks frequently arise as a result.

How to Respond When Accused of Unlicensed Medical Practice

Category	Direction of Response	Key Points
Initial Response	Organizing the Facts	Whether an actual procedure was performed, whether consideration was received
Legal Review	Determining Whether It Constitutes a Medical Act	Whether there is a purpose of treating disease and specialized medical expertise
Securing Evidence	Organizing Advertising and Photography Materials	Proving the purpose of staging and demonstration
Investigation Response	Accompaniment by an Attorney	Maintaining consistency in the direction of statements
Repeated Accusations	Asserting Abuse of Accusations	Presenting the record of investigations into the same matter

Daeryun Law Firm One-Stop Response

Daeryun Law Firm combines the interpretation of the Medical Service Act and of medical acts by an attorney specializing in medical matters who holds a physician's qualification, the investigation response and non-referral strategy of an attorney specializing in criminal matters, and advisory services for preventing recurrence through the analysis of advertising and platform risks, in order to provide a one-stop response to related cases.

Unlicensed medical practice is a sensitive area in which a person can become the subject of a criminal investigation based on a report alone, regardless of whether any actual violation occurred.

Daeryun distinguishes between a formal misunderstanding and a substantive medical act and provides a strategic response that protects the client's business and reputation.

If you need legal assistance in a related case, please proceed with 🔗Scheduling a Legal Consultation.

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This content is based on actual cases handled by Daeryun Law LLC and has been partially adapted. All copyrights belong to Daeryun Law LLC.
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